From the new-wave vocal powerhouses to indie-minded breakouts to enduring legends who still rock our world, ELLE honors the women in music sounding off in 2011
On writing hits:
“I do! Why wouldn’t you want that many people listening to the songs that you wrote? There’s no way to go back after you have had it. So the intentions of even the solo records were always about trying to write those guilty-pleasure albums that just get in your head and you can’t get out. I’m not cool, I’m not into the B-sides. Prince, who is one of my idols, gave me some advice when I worked with him: “Have you ever just tried writing a hit? Like, don’t just try writing a song, try and write a hit song.” I remember him saying that and me thinking, Yeah, you’re right. Why would you write anything else?”
On her marriage to Gavin Rossdale:
“The first time we ever kissed was right around Valentine’s Day—we were in New Orleans on tour. So, yeah, I always think about that because it’s unbelievable that we’ve been able to stay together. I feel so proud of us—it’s one of my biggest achievements.”
On performing while pregnant:
“It was horrible. Certain songs would make me want to puke. You feel pretty gross when you are first pregnant. You don’t feel cute, you feel disgusting. You’re getting fat. It was hard. I mean, I’m very vain. That would be my middle name. Of course I am, you know what I mean? I love the visual.”
On whether Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Katy Perry have taken a page out of her playbook when it comes to style:
“Really? I don’t see myself in those girls. I usually put pants on. I see these girls as more going for the sex-symbol thing. I was more, in the band, like a tomboy. Of course, I think every girl is sexy, so there’s going to be a little of that. But I see a lot of younger artists going more toward the sexy thing.”
On pop music:
“When we were growing up, some of the hits were legendary ones that you hear your whole life. But certain songs, I don’t know if you’ll ever hear them again. Because that’s what that music is, like a guilty pleasure, it’s right at the moment. It’s like fashion—it’s now, then it’s gone.”
To read the complete interview, pick up the May issue of ELLE, on newsstands Now!
Rihanna will be the opening act for this year’s American Music Awards, according to Rap-Up.com and Universal Music.
Rihanna has been nominated for “Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist” along with Alicia Keys and Sade.
Also announced to perform are; Usher, P!nk, and Bon Jovi.
The 38th annual AMAs will air live on Sunday, November 21st, at 8 p.m. on ABC, which will be 5 days before her most anticipating album release for ‘LOUD’.
Rihanna is pre-nominated in three category for Favorite Female Artist , Favorite Song (“Love The Way You Lie“) & Favorite Pop Artist .
Cast your votes for Rihanna now! Vote HERE for Favorite Female Artist Vote HERE for Favorite Song Vote HERE for Favorite Pop Artist
Rihanna’s Doritos Commercial Details
Rihanna’s Doritos commercial was supposed to come out on October 15, but it actually got released yesterday (Tuesday, October 19).
According to AccessHollywood.com & JustJared.com;
AccessHollywood.com: It may look like a music video for “Who’s That Chick?”, but Rihanna’s new video is what’s known as an augmented reality music experience where online viewers can choose between Rihanna’s bright and colorful light side or her sexy and sassy dark side. So how is Doritos making it happen? The only way to experience Rihanna and David Guetta’s “Who’s That Chick?” track and videos is through DoritosLateNight.com beginning on Oct. 19.
According to JustJared.com: Rihanna has a new Doritos commercial coming out later this month.
“There’s this new pop-up video technology called augmented reality. There will be a barcode on the Doritos chip bags, you go home and hold it up to your computer and a video will pop up. We shot the exact video twice – one in day, one in night. So the night version has everything different — it has everything is in the day version, it’s just black and gray. It’s darker and grittier. You’ll be able to click at any time and make it night and the same shot will show up just in the night version. It’s cool.”
When asked which version is more her now, Rihanna responded, “More of the day version. Only because I’ve started to incorporate a lot of different colors into my wardrobe now. I’m loving that direction. Right now, it feels good and right. It was a cool concept too because it was kind of one side of me and now, it’s evolving into the new colorful stuff that we’ve been doing.”
As for her favorite Doritos flavor, Rihanna loves Spicy Nacho. “I just like spicy chips; So of course that would be my favorite one… One of my make-up artists [Mylah Morales] and I carry around chili all the town. It’s sickening. I eat everything with red pepper.”
Check out the video for Rihanna’s “Who’s That Chick” Behind The Scenes
More Doritos Late Night Promotional Photos below….
Rihanna & Eminem- “Love The Way You Lie, Part 2”
Rihanna and is currently working with Eminem again, after their recent success of their single “Love the Way You Lie” – with the pair reportedly planning a sequel track.
She explained: “Eminem is a genius. He’s one of the cleverest poets around right now. His lyrics are unique. He tells a story, but in a very interesting way. I’d love to collaborate with him again. Actually, we’ve already been talking about it.”
The Alex Da Kid-produced song will appear on Rihannas’s forthcoming album ‘LOUD’, which drops in stores November 16th.
In the song “Love The Way You Lie (Part 2)“, Rihanna sings,
“Even angels have their wing cut schemes, and you take that to new extremes, but you will always be my hero, even though you lost your mind.”
No Collabo for Rihanna & Lady Gaga on ‘Loud’
The pop star Lady Gaga will not be featured on Rihanna‘s new album ‘Loud‘ despite the rumors which have been circulating for most of this week.
However, a spokesperson for Rihanna has branded the artwork a fake and told entertainment blog JustJared.com that the Umbrella songstress has not teamed up with Lady Gaga.
If the two pop heavyweights have collaborated, recent comments from Rihanna may have damaged their working relationship.
The Bajan beauty slammed Lady Gaga’s out-there sense of style, saying it is ‘boring’.
“A lot of people dress like Lady Gaga now. I’ve just stepped off into a whole new look and style,’ she said, adding: ‘The whole shoulder pad thing and the architectural look is so sharp-edged and tough. I’m over that.”
“I like floral prints now, which I never liked. Trends are boring,” she continued.
Rihanna is also rumored to be working on a duet with another pop superstar, Katy Perry.
‘I love Katy’s music! That’s why I wanna make a duet with her. We’re already working on it,’ she said earlier this month.
Her comments came after she slammed Katy and Lady Gaga’s music for being ‘generic’ during an interview with BBC Radio 1.
Check out the video below….
However, she later backtracked, saying she meant to criticize the producers who give all female artists the same type of songs.
Rihanna Wants To Work With Cheryl Cole
A source told The Sun newspaper:
“Rihanna is desperate to work with Cheryl. She fell in love with Cheryl’s single “Parachute”, from her debut solo album ‘3 Words’. She listens to it in her car the whole time.
“Rihanna really wants to record a track with Cheryl – and already has one in mind that she’s convinced she will love.”
The 22-year-old Barbadian also admitted she is in awe of Cheryl, who she thinks is “the most beautiful woman she’s ever seen“.
She said: “She is awesome, I think she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Like, how do you have a face like that, with hair like that and dimples, and a body like that, that’s proportioned like that. And you have a successful career, something about that is not right!”
Below is a list of her possible upcoming appearances so far.
CONFIRMED APPEARANCES:
Oct — | Doritos Campaign Kick Off
Oct 26 | Rihanna’s book release
Oct 27 | Book signing in NYC
Oct 30 | Saturday Night Live
Nov 16 | LOUD release (album)
Nov 17 | GMA Fall Concert Series
Nov 21 | American Music Awards – Intro performance
POSSIBLE APPEARANCES:
Nov 2 | Good Morning America
Nov 2 | The Late Show With David Letterman
Nov 4 | The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Nov 5 | Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Nov 15 |BET 106&Park
Dec 10 | Z10 Jingle Ball
— — | The View
UPCOMING MAGAZINES:
December 2010 – Marie Claire (UK)
Q Magazine (UK)
LAST GIRL ON EARTH TOUR – AUSTRALIA:
Feb 25, 2011 | Brisbane
Feb 28, 2011 | Newcastle
Mar 4, 2011 | Sydney
Mar 7, 2011 | Melbourne
Mar 8, 2011 | Melbourne
Mar 10, 2011 | Adelaide
Mar 12, 2011 | Perth
Source: The Sun Newspaper, Ultimate-Rihanna, JustJared.com, AccessHollywood.com, Rihanna-Daily.com
Rihanna gets into the Christmas spirit with her new reggae-inspired Christmas song, “A Child Is Born.” Christmas is still roughly two months away, but Rihanna had released a snippet of the new reggae-flavoured Christmas song back in September and let me start off by saying that it really got me into the Christmas spirit. It’s a huge change from the usual festive ballads, Rihanna has gone for an upbeat sound on the track.
The song is featured on a compilation album titled ‘Now That’s What I Call Christmas, Vol. 4,’ which was released yesterday (Tuesday, October 12).
The new album consists of 36 tracks, which will be split on 2 discs (No you don’t have to go out and buy two separate albums, they are both in one album). As for the other tracks included on the album, will include, Lady GaGa‘s “Christmas Tree”, Britney Spears‘ “My Only Wish (This Year),” Christina Aguilera’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” Kelly Rowland’s “Wonderful Christmastime” and Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas Is You”.
Rihanna had also recently announced that the song “Only Girl (In The World)” will be the first track to be taken from her next album “Loud”, which will be released in November.
‘I didn’t want to go backward and remake [2008 album] ‘Good Girl Gone Bad’. I wanted the next step in the evolution of Rihanna,’ she said during a webchat on her official website Rihannanow.com.
‘I’m gonna miss the [2009 album] ‘Rated R’ era too, but NOTHING compares to the album I just made.’
Who is the world’s highest earning celebrity? Which power couple dominates the entertainment world? What pop star commands the most searches on the Internet? The new Guinness World Records 2011 edition out now reveals all this and more in its celebrity-filled pages.
As one of the most talked about pop stars in recent memory, it should come as no surprise that Lady Gaga earned two records for the new book – “Most Searched-For Female” on Google and “Most Weeks On UK Chart In Any Year” with an astounding 154 weeks.Gaga shares her place in the new book alongside two of music’s superstars – Jay-Z and Beyonce. Named the year’s biggest “Power Couple”, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Beyonce Knowles earned an astounding $122 million through June 2009.
In tribute to the “King of Pop”, the new Guinness World Records book features a special page devoted to Michael Jackson. The untimely death of MJ made the entertainer the “Most Searched-For Male” on the web and earned him several posthumous records reinforcing his spot at the top of the entertainment world. MJ, a fan of the Guinness World Records book, is a multiple record holder receiving eight over his lifetime for his chart achievements, album sales, earnings and charity donations.
This world renowned and celebrated annual, Guinness World Records 2011, contains the most comprehensive collection of the greatest and most amazing accomplishments from this past decade and beyond. A “must-have” for both knowledge-seekers and aspiring record-breakers of all ages, Guinness World Records 2011 is available September 15th for the suggested retail price of $28.95. For more information about Guinness World Records 2011, to find out how you can participate in Guinness World Records Day 2009 or to vote for your favorite records, visit their website at: www.guinnessworldrecords.com.
This time last year Complex Magazine’s Joe La Puma interviewed Kid Cudi for their Aug/Sept cover story that took an in depth look into Cudi’s life and music. This time around they’re back for another cover and a follow up that leads to an even better story.
Complex Magazine revealed the first cover for their October/November issue, and it features Kid Cudi making his second return to the Complex‘s front. The cover story with Cudi was also released and features an interview with Joe La Puma. Cudi takes the gloves off so to speak, and opens up about his new album, “Man On The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager”. Cudi says the album is “dark, and smart explicit.” It’s no surprise since Cudi‘s music is exceptionally personal and authentic. His debut LP, which Complex named album of the year, is also one of many fans favorite for the emotion and passion Cudi channels through his songs. His experiences shape the music, and since the release of the first record, Cudi‘s definitely had a lot of tough ones. He’s been to jail, had a child, been kicked off tour with Lady Gaga, and struggled with drug abuse. He addresses all those things, and has some choice words for Wale and Perez Hilton in the Complex interview.
Check out some excerpts from the interview below after the jump….
About Wale:
“Then people like Wale get mad that ‘Ye ain’t give him no beats—’Ye ain’t give you no beats because we ain’t fucking with your raps. It’s not a conspiracy theory. We don’t fuck with you musically, so we’re not going to provide music for you. The shit is a service, it’s a quality of a certain standard. Niggas are just so thirsty it’s ridiculous. I’ve been eating humble pie forever, and people still call me an asshole. These people don’t know my fucking life—now I’m going to give them something to talk about.”
About Perez Hilton:
“Even Perez Hilton said some shit about me. He might be a good person and have a good heart, but he does a lot of fuckhead shit. Who are you to talk about people? That’s not cool. That’s why the world is so fucked up, because of hate. And he’s gay? I just don’t get that. The gay people I know are about peace and love and coming together. That shit doesn’t register with me. He’s a chump and a coward, and it’s fucked up because I met dude so many times and he had nothing but love to show me. Then when that shit happened with Lady Gaga kicking me off her tour, he had to run his mouth and judge me on that shit.”
On his drug use:
“I started doing cocaine to get through interviews, ’cause people wanted to know a lot about my personal life and I wasn’t prepared for a 60 Minutes interview every time. Doing bumps I was able to get through the day, but then I would smoke weed to calm me down—it was the only way I could get through the day without people noticing I was doing it.”
“I never thought it was a problem, but I was definitely high-fiving death a couple of times. It took a lot for me to talk about shit like this on the album. I don’t feel like I need to explain myself to anyone besides the fans. My fans don’t believe shit until they hear me say it. And those are true Kid Cudi fans. I want them to know the story.”
About his daughter:
“There’s another thing people don’t know. I have a daughter, born March 26th of this year. Her name is Vada, and she’s fucking awesome. That was eating me up, and it was stressing me out that nobody knew about her. I was trying to escape from that, too. Just trying to figure it out and make everyone happy, it’s a lot for somebody my age to handle. I was manning up and dealing with it in what I thought was the right way, but it was the wrong way. I want to be around for her. I can honestly say she was the wake-up call. The reality that it’s bigger than just you now—you have a responsibility and there’s no more time for mistakes. It’s time to stop fucking around.”
About Lupe Fiasco:
“Besides the fam, and Yeezy and Don C, there’s one artist in this game who has always had my back and had nothing but love to show, and that’s Lupe Fiasco. Every time I see that man, it’s nothing but love—I saw him a little after it, and he was like “I’m worried about you, man, just checking in.” He’s somebody who I know really genuinely gives a fuck. Noreaga also checked in.”
On Kanye x Cudi:
“Can I be honest with you? I don’t think anybody is fucking with what we—me and Kanye—got. Creatively, there’s nobody. You can argue all day about who has the best album, there’s never going to be an answer. There are other artists who are hot for God knows what reason. But as far as creativity, pound for pound, track for track, video for video, hands down, there’s nobody fucking with me and ‘Ye.”
Sunday night marked the 2010 BET Awards, hosted by Queen Latifah, and an all-star roster of celebrities presented, performed, and took home top honors.
Between Prince‘s Lifetime achievement award and Queen Latifah running the show, there was plenty of royalty at last night’s 10th anniversary of the BET Awards. But in the midst of the performances of accolades, the stage was also set for a few big names to make their comebacks.
Jermaine Jackson announced the first return of the evening when he introduced the tribute to his late brother, thanking everyone for their love and support over the past year. He added, “There is one tribute performance we have yet to see…here he is.”
Chris Brown was poised behind the curtain, looking like the silhouette of Michael Jackson himself. Once he came out, there was a palpable moment of tension so strong, it could almost be felt through the TV.
Brown crotch-grabbed and moon-walked his way like a pro through the Michael Jackson songs as a supportive audience cheered him on.
But then the opening bars from “Man in the Mirror” began to play, and we all braced for the irony of the words. Brown got through about one line of the song before his voice started to quiver with tears. After a few heartfelt efforts to regain composure, Brown fell to his knees sobbing and completely gave up trying to sing as the backup track took over.
But Brown wasn’t the only one returning to the stage: Kanye West opened the show on top of a mountain – literally – as he performed his latest single, “Power.” T.I gave an upbeat performance that had the whole crowd moving, and El DeBarge was also a surprising treat as he performed a new song from his upcoming album and a medley of his R&B hits.
Queen Latifah kept the show flowing as she changed outfits about 500 times, and Alicia Keys also had a good night. She won Best Female R&B artist, Best Collaboration for her work with Jay-Z in “Empire State of Mind,” and also fit in two performances: a medley set of her own songs early on in the program, and then she joined in the Prince tribute.
But probably the best Prince performance of the night came from the one and only Patti LaBelle, who sang “Purple Rain” like we’ve never heard it before. LaBelle flicked her shoes off into the audience where Prince picked one of them up and gestured in respect to the diva.
LaBelle came back and joined Chaka Khan on stage to formally present Prince with his Lifetime Achievement Award.
Overwhelmed by the amount of praise coming from the audience, Prince asked everyone to sit down and said he was “speechless.” He started by thanking Jehovah, and then remarked on the future of music. “I do believe the future is in good hands, there is so much talent here,” he said.
Then Prince offered some words of wisdom to the young talent in the room. “I was pretty wild in my younger days and you don’t have to do what I did and you don’t have to make the mistakes I made,” he said. “Thank you for a wonderful night tonight, I’ll never forget it as long I live.”
Trey Songz took home Best Male R&B Artist and Drake won Best Male Hip Hop Artist. Nicki Minaj received the award for Best Female Hip Hop Artist and thanked the female rappers who paved the way for her.
Rihanna received the coveted Viewer’s Choice Award for “Hard,” but was not there to accept it. Also not there to accept Awards were Beyonce’ and Lady Gaga, who won Video of the Year for their collaboration in “Video Phone,” and Jay-Z was absent from the show as well.
Chris Brown had the last word, at least for the night. After his Jackson tribute, he was announced as the surprise winner of BET’s Fandemonium award, a prize determined by fan votes, beating out apparent favorites like Justin Bieber, Trey Songz and Nicki Minaj.
Stepping to the stage to receive his trophy, Brown gave a quick acceptance speech. “I let you all down before, but I won’t do it again,” he said. “I promise you.”
Here’s a breakdown of all the winners…
Winners included:
Viewers’ Choice: Rihanna (not at awards ceremony)
Best Female R&B Artist: Alicia Keys
Best Male R&B Artist: Trey Songz
Best Female Hip Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Male Hip Hop Artist: Drake
Best New Artist: Nicki Minaj
Best Group: Young Money
Video of the Year: Beyonce and Lady Gaga for “Video Phone” (not at awards ceremony)
Best Actress: Mo’Nique
Best Actor: Idris Elba
Best Movie: Precious
Sportsman of the Year: Lebron James
Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams
Prince also won a Lifetime achievement award and John Legend won a humanitarian award.
The show’s top performances were given by Chris Brown, who paid tribute to Michael Jackson and ended sobbing on stage during “Man In The Mirror,” and Patti LaBelle’s cover of “Purple Rain” in honor of Prince.
Below is a video from Chris Brown’s Michael Jackson Tribute:
Alicia Keys Tribute to Prince:
Source: CNN, BET, YOUTUBE
~ “Alicia Keys’ performance had me at the edge of my seat when she climbed on top of her piano. I was so nervous that she wouldn’t fall, even Prince looked nervous. As for Chris Brown, I was so excited to see him perform, and hear how the crowd cheered him on. It was one of the best performances I saw. He really knows how to break down Michael Jackson’s moves. Welcome back Chris Brown.”
Sixth-grader Greyson Michael Chance [Bieber who?] performs a chick-magnetized version of Lady Gaga’s “Paparazzi” in a pit of lip-biting, face-touching young women. lol.
Look out Lady Gaga, there’s another musician rocking out in custom-made Giorgio Armani outfits—Alicia Keys! The soulful songstress, who was dressed in head-to-toe Armani for her 2008 As I Am tour, will rock four dazzling, one-of-a-kind costumes from the Italian designer for her current tour, The Element of Freedom. The first look, a sparkling crocodile-printed military jacket, features crystals and sequins, and is paired with silk leggings and tone-on-tone Swarovski crystals. Other highlights include a one-shoulder silk top with embroidery detailing and crystal-encrusted leather boots. A sexy one-shouldered silk chiffon gown in dark gray–paired with black sandals–completes the third look, while a flirty mini-dress with strong shoulders and cascade ruffles finishes off the assortment. With so many daring looks for her latest tour, we cannot wait to see Alicia work them in concert! For more information on her tour dates, check out AliciaKeys.com.
Last week Nicki Minaj dropped out of Rihanna’s tour and fired her manager, Debbie Antney. According to sources Minaj‘s career will now be managed by P. Diddy and co-manager James Cruz. It has been reported that the rapper initially reached out to Troy Carter, but Lady Gaga wasn’t having it! After the Lady threatened to find new management, Carter quickly stepped away from any deals with Minaj.
It was an intense and exciting Sunday evening as the “2009 Video Music Awards” took over New York City, causing quite a stir with Kanye West‘s outburst, Madonna‘s surprise appearance, Janet Jackson‘s tribute performance to her brother Michael and the cast of ‘Twilight”s big reveal of their extended ‘New Moon’ trailer.
Madonna opened the awards show, paying tribute to the late Michael Jackson.
Madonna called Michael Jackson a “hero,” a “king” and a “human being” as she paid tribute to the King of Pop at MTV’s “2009 Video Music Awards,” prior to Janet Jackson‘s anticipated performance.
“When I was six, my mother died. I think he got the shorter end of the sick,” she says of the music legend. “I never had a mother but he never had a childhood.”
Madonna said when she learned of Michael’s death while preparing for her tour, she felt as if she had “abandoned him.”
“I know his pain,” she said, referring to the constant media attention the King of Pop received.
Madonna said his legacy lives on, starting with her two sons who are big fans of the late singer. “There’s a whole lot of crotch grabbing and moon-walking in my house,” Madonna joked.
She concluded her tribute saying, “He was a king, but he was also a human being. … Long live the king.”
Following her words, dancers made their way to the stage to perform to Michael‘s acclaimed song “Thriller.”Janet Jackson followed that performance up with her own tribute, singing the song “Scream,” a duet she recorded with her brother.
Taylor Swift then went up onstage to accept the award for Best Female Music Video from Taylor Lautner and Shakira, but her speech was cut short when Kanye West grabbed the microphone from her, declaring that Beyonce’ Knowles had the best music video of the year.
Swift was also amongst the performers of the night, in addition to Green Day, Pink, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys and Kid Cudi.Cudi dedicated his performance to the late Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein, while Pink performed high in the sky with a trapeze artist.
The show concluded with a preview of Michael Jackson‘s anticipated documentary ‘This Is It.’
Here is the list of Moon Men winners at the 2009 VMA’s:
Breakthrough Video- Matt and Kim, “Lessons Learned”
Female Video- Taylor Swift, “You Belong with Me”
Rock Video- Green Day, “21 Guns”
Pop Video- Britney Spears, “Womanizer”
Male Video- T.I. featuring Rihanna, “Live Your Life”
Hip-Hop Video- Eminem, “We Made You”
Best New Artist- Lady Gaga
Video of the Year- Beyonce’ Knowles, “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)”
Check out more photos below from last night’s VMAs.
JNEL & J. Magazine 
